“Good question. First, I wanted to walk the perimeter with you and your men and let everyone get a good idea about the layout of the land. After that, if she’s up to it, I’d like Sinthy to set up one of her simulated battles.”
“We’ve done two of those,” Tiago said. “It’s strange as hell.”
“You haven’t seen the real deal since you were too far away from her power to have the full effect. You just had shadows. This will be… pretty real.”
From the look on Tiago’s face, I could tell he was skeptical that the simulation could be more realistic than what he’d already experienced. I looked forward to seeing his face when he saw what Sinthy could really do.
Tiago, his son Alfonso, and six of his top betas followed me as we walked the perimeter. The gate was the first stop. The anti-shifters were still there and had pushed a little closer. The power of Sinthy’s wards had definitely decreased. You could feel it. The energy wasn’t what it had been. As soon as she’d vanished the night before, I’d felt it. Whatever spell she’d done had kept the wards in place, but it would need to be re-strengthened before we sent her off to gather any more shifters.
We trudged through the forests and fields surrounding the land, I pointed out security cameras along the outer edge, andwe had guards patrolling the area either in wolf form or in their human form and armed. It took three hours, and we were all starving when we got back.
I ate with the men outside their makeshift barracks, and it was nearing noon when Maddy and Sinthy came down the hill toward us. I waved to them, and both women waved back. Maddy looked refreshed but still tired. Sinthy looked better than I’d thought she would. The dark circles under her eyes had faded, and her skin wasn’t as pale as it had been the night before.
“Hey,” I said as they walked up to the picnic table.
“Hi,” Maddy said, kissing my cheek. “Did you get enough sleep?”
Waving away her concern, I looked at Sinthy. “I’ll be fine. How is our miracle worker doing?”
Sinthy smiled brightly. “It’s amazing what sleep and about ten thousand calories will do.”
I glanced at Tiago and his men. My next words were hesitant. “Do you feel up to a simulated training battle?” I raised my hand quickly. “If not, I totally understand. It can wait for another day.”
“After last night,” Sinthy said, “that’ll be child’s play. I’m fine. I’ll only do one, though. I need to strengthen the wards again later.”
Relief surged through me. She seemed well-recovered. I didn’t hear any hesitation or forced acceptance in her voice. If her tone had even suggested either of that, I’d have called it off.
“Great. We’ll meet you at the field in a minute.”
After we finished eating, Tiago rounded up all the men of his pack who were old enough to fight and followed me to the field. Shooting off a quick text, I had my dad, brothers, and my best friends meet us there as well. It pleased me to see Luis and Sebastian cracking jokes with each other as they walked down with Felipe. At least that drama had resolved itself.
Sinthy walked the perimeter of the field, casting her spell.
“What kind of things did you see during your training time?” I asked Tiago.
“Kind of like shadows running around. No faces or anything like that. It did help us figure out how to organize and work under pressure, but it wasn’t as realistic as what you mentioned,” Tiago said.
With a grin, I nudged his arm with my fist. “Get ready. You’re about to see something that’s gonna knock your socks off.”
Ten minutes later, Sinthy sat cross-legged on the hill overlooking the field and activated her spell. Tiago and his men murmured curses of surprise when the weapons, solid and heavy, appeared in their hands.
Tiago looked up with wide, shocked eyes. “Holy shit.”
“Wait for it,’ I said, nodding toward the trees.
A moment later, dozens of armed men and women stormed toward us from the tree line. Each one looked as real as could be. Murmurs of confusion erupted through Tiago’s pack. Confusion and panic.
I held my arms up. “It’s an illusion! No one freak out.”
After a few minutes of explanation, I told Sinthy to let the battle commence. Tiago’s men went to work firing on the fake enemies, and I pushed my way into the battle, letting my mind slip into the dark place it went in a fight. It only took a few seconds for me to totally forget it was all fake.
Gunshots and screams assaulted my senses as I sprinted around the field, dodging volleys of bullets. I took down four enemies before I witnessed Tiago’s gun vanish from his hands, a kill shot removing him from the game. He cursed and walked to the edge of the battle.
The new power surged within me, and even in my human form, I moved more surely than I ever had before, my shotsmore accurate, my reflexes faster. Sweat drenched my back as the battle wore on.
“Nico!” Maddy screeched.
I spun and saw her on the hill, an enemy’s arm around her neck, a pistol to her head. The image of her like that, helpless and in danger, froze me to the spot. How had she gotten there? When did she enter the battle? I couldn’t move. All rational thought vanished from my mind.
